Method for winding armature cores

ABSTRACT

A machine and method for winding coils of wire on a slotted core of an armature core assembly. The machine has a holder for releasably supporting the armature core assembly in an upright position. Rotatable annular members located adjacent opposite sides of the core have holes for accommodating wires that are wound on the core. Chucks mounted on the annular members guide the wires moving from the annular members into two pairs of slots in the core. A motor connected to the annular members with a common drive structure rotates the annular members in opposite directions to wind two coils of wire on the core. A core indexing motor drivably connected to the holder operates to sequentially index the core during the winding operation.

This application is a continuation of U.S. Application Ser. No. 712,231,filed Aug. 6, 1976, now abandoned. Application Ser. No. 712,231 is adivision of U.S. Application Ser. No. 557,363, filed Mar. 11, 1975, nowabandoned.

BACKGROUND OF INVENTION

Armature core winding machines have a pair of complementary wire guidingshrouds between which the core of the unwound armature core assembly isgripped. The shrouds guide the wire into the slots during the windingoperation. Heretofore, the wire drawn from a source thereof was woundinto the core slots with moving arms known as flyers that rotated aboutan axis perpendicularly intersecting the axis of the core. Usually therewere two flyers, one at each side of the core, with the orbits of theflyers so oriented that the stretches of wire leading from the flyers tothe armature core slid along the surfaces of the shrouds and into a pairof slots in position to receive wire. The flyers are mounted on opposingshafts that are driven in opposite directions during the windingoperation. The drive shafts and structures used to rotate the shaftslimit access to the winding areas to assist hooking the lead wires ontocommutator hooks, guide wires into armature slots and like operations.In these prior winding machines, the intersecting axes of the core andflyers were horizontal so that during the winding operation, thearmature core assemblies were held with their axes horizontal. Examplesof this type of winding machine are shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,474,515 andNo. 3,818,570.

While the aforesaid conventional armature winding machines were a boonto the electric motor industry, they have not been able to meet the everincreasing demands for higher production speeds. To a large degree, thatwas due to the inevitable complexity of the mechanism required to drivethe flyers of conventional armature winding machines. Bearing in mindthat the flyers rotated in circular orbits that encompassed the wireguiding shrouds, they were mounted on the adjacent ends of coaxial butspaced apart relatively heavy shafts and, as a result, the rotatingflyer assemblies had considerable inertia. This limited the rapiditywith which the flyers could be started and stopped and thus made itimpossible to significantly increase production speeds, since to gainthe desired speed, the mechanism by which the flyers were driven wouldhave to have been capable of instantaneous starts and stops andimmediate acceleration to a very high running speed.

But the size and weight of the shafts that carried the flyers was notthe only speed limiting factor. The pulleys, belts and gear box neededto bring driving torque, in opposite directions, to the flyer shaftsalso contributed significantly to the reasons why the production speedsof conventional armature winding machines were limited. In addition tothe speed limiting characteristics of the flyer assemblies of priorwinding machines, and their driving mechanism, these parts of themachine were also rather costly to produce.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

This invention relates to a method of winding coils of wire into thecore of an armature with automatic machines and refers more particularlyto an armature winding machine by which coils of wire are successivelywound into one or more pairs of circumferentially spaced slots in theiron core of the armature, and the starting and ending leads of thesuccessively wound coils are mechanically and electrically connected totheir respective segments of the commutator of the armature.

The method of winding a coil of wire onto a core of an armature includesthe holding of an armature in a wire receiving position. A holdingstructure is used to hold the armature in an upright position with theaxes of the core in a generally vertical position. A portion of the coreis shielded to expose at least a pair of slots for accommodating a wire.In one form the opposite portions of the core are shielded to expose atleast two pairs of slots for accommodating separate coils of wire. Thecoil of wire is placed at each of the pairs of slots by rotating anannular means about an axis generally normal to the longitudinal axis ofthe core. When wire is wound in the two pairs of slots, a first annularmember is rotated in a first direction of wind wire in one pair of slotsand a second annular member is rotated in the second or oppositedirection to wind a coil of wire in the second pair of slots. The coilis then sequentially rotated after the coils of wire have been woundunder the core to expose additional pairs of slots. The process includesthe winding of additional coils of wire in the pairs of exposed slotsuntil all of the slots accommodate coils of wire.

In one form of the invention, the method of winding coils of wire onto aslotted core of an armature is practiced with machine having a housingmeans rotatably carrying a first annular means and a second annularmeans. The annular means are located adjacent opposite portions of thearmature core assembly and have means for carrying wire around the core.Drive means operates to rotate the first annular means and secondannular means whereby wire is wound in pairs of slots in the core.Chucks having wire guiding surfaces mounted on the annular means operateto guide the wires into the pairs of slots. Tabs movably mounted on thechucks guide the wire over the end of the core and into the slots.

In another form of the invention, the method of winding a coil of wireonto a slotted core of an armature is practiced with a machine having asingle rotatable annular means located adjacent one side of the armaturecore. A drive means rotates the annular means to wind wire into a pairof slots in the core. A chuck mounted on the annular member has asurface to guide the wire into the slots. Tabs movably mounted on thechucks guide the wire over the end of the core and into the slots.

With a view to increasing the production speeds of armature windingmachines and effecting a cost reduction, the present invention haseliminated the conventional flyers with their necessarily heavy andexpensive drive shafts, their wire guiding pulleys and the complextransmission mechanism through which driving torque was delivered to theflyers, and has replaced all that structure and mechanism with a novel,greatly simplified, relatively light and very well balanced mechanismcapable of winding coils onto the slotted cores of armature coreassemblies at speeds theretofore deemed unattainable.

Where, as indicated hereinbefore, in prior winding machines the armaturecore assembly was held with its axis horizontal during the windingoperation, with this invention it is vertically oriented, with thecommutator end of the assembly lowermost. As a result, the falling smallpieces of wire that are trimmed from the wire leads at their points ofattachment to the commutator drop harmlessly from the zone of action anddo not foul up subsequent operations.

An object of the invention is to provide a method of winding coils ofwire on a core of an armature using an armature coil winding machinewith winding structure that is fast and efficient in operation andpermits access to the core, commutator, winding operation areas, hookingoperation areas, and areas for manipulation of lead wires during thewinding operation. A further object of the invention is to provide animproved method of winding coils of wire onto a core of an armature.

IN THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an unwound armature core assembly, thewinding of which is especially well performed by the machine of thisinvention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the commutator end portion of the woundarmature, showing the leads of the successively wound coils attached tothe commutator bars by the so-called com-stuffing procedure;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the exterior of the armature windingmachine of this invention and its control console;

FIG. 4 is a horizontal sectional view through one embodiment of the coilwinding mechanism of the machine, with an armature core assembly inposition therein;

FIG. 5 is a vertical sectional view through FIG. 4 on a plane of theline 5--5;

FIG. 6 is a vertical sectional view through FIG. 5 on the plane of line6--6;

FIG. 7 is a top plan view of a second embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 8 is a side elevational view of FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is an enlarged sectional view taken along line 9--9 of FIG. 8;

FIG. 10 is a sectional view taken along line 10--10 of FIG. 9;

FIG. 11 is a sectional view taken along line 11--11 of FIG. 9;

FIG. 12 is a front elevational view of a wire guiding shroud used in theapparatus of FIG. 7;

FIG. 13 is a sectional view taken along line 13--13 of FIG. 12;

FIG. 14 is a sectional view taken along line 14--14 of FIG. 12;

FIG. 15 is a front elevational view of a third embodiment of theinvention;

FIG. 16 is a front elevational view, partly sectioned, of a fourthembodiment of the invention;

FIG. 17 is a sectional view taken along line 17--17 of FIG. 16; and

FIG. 18 is a sectional view taken along line 18--18 of FIG. 16.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring to the drawings, and considering first FIGS. 1 and 2 thereof,the numeral 5 designates generally an armature core assembly that isrepresentative of the type onto which coils are wound by the windingmachine of this invention. As is customary, the assembly consists of acore 6 formed of a stack of steel laminations and a commutator 7, bothmounted in axially spaced relation on a common shaft 8. The core has theusual circumferentially spaced longitudinally extending slots 9 intowhich the windings 10 of the armature are wound, part of which are shownin FIG. 2.

The commutator, as is well known, consists of a circle ofcircumferentially spaced copper bars or segments 11, mounted in a spoolof suitable insulating material, and in the present case each bar orsegment has a slot 12 cut into its end portion nearest the core. Thebottom of this slot slopes downwardly towards its open end which facesthe core 6.

The winding machine 4, which is the concern of this invention, differssignificantly from the machines heretofore available for the winding ofarmatures. Even the apperance of the machine is different, as will beimmediately apparent from FIG. 3. Because of the improvement over priorwinding machines in the manner in which the winding mechanism functionsin this invention, all of the operating parts of the machine 4 arehoused within a neatly trim cabinet 13, which simply has an opening 14in its top wall through which the unwound armature core assemblies 5 areintroduced into the machine 4 and the wound armatures are removed fromthe machine 4, either by hand or by automatic loading mechanism (notshown).

Below the top wall of the cabinet is the coil winding mechanism of themachine. As shown in FIGS. 4, 5 and 6, the armature core assembly 5 isvertically oriented during the coil winding operation, with itscommutator end lowermost. As the armature core assembly 5 is loweredinto the machine 4, it locates itself vertically by having thecommutator seat upon the top of a vertically orientec collet 15. At thesame time, the bottom end portion of its shaft 8 is tightly gripped andcoaxially connected with the drive shaft of an electric motor 15A, ofthe type that is capable of imparting minute increments of rotation toits drive shaft as well as larger segments thereof, including a full360° turn. Moreover, a motor of this type produces the designatedincrements of rotation very rapidly.

The drive shaft of the motor 15A also has a shaft encoder coupled to it.A shaft encoder is an electromechanical device that can be used toprovide an electronic output in the form of a series of identical pulsesidentifying minute increments of rotation of the shaft to which theencoder is coupled. The Technical Bulletin 5-70-G, published by EncoderDivision of Litton Industries in Chatsworth, California, describes suchan encoder.

The output of the encoder is fed into the memory bank of a computer thatforms part of a control system for the winding machine 4 that is housedin a cabinet 16 and connected with the winding machine 4 by an umbilicalcord 17. Also fed into the computer are signals that are derived fromsensing the locations of the slots 9 in the core of the armature coreassembly 5 and the locations of the slots 12 in the commutator segments11 upon relative rotation between slot-location-sensing means and thearmature core assembly 5. Thus, by effecting such relative rotation bymeans of the electric motor 15A, the slot location information and theoutput of the encoder are compared by the computer and the exact centerof every slot (both core and commutator) with respect to a zero positionis established in the computer memory. It requires but aninfinitesimally short time to feed this information into the computerand for the computer to make the needed comparison, so that inpractically no time after the armature core assembly is inserted intothe winding machine, its control system is set to automatically indexthe machine, successively wind the coils onto the core and attach theleads to and from the coils to the commutator segments.

The aforesaid method of comparing the slot location information with theoutput of shaft encoder and utilizing the results of that comparison toaccurately index the armature core assembly, is the subject matter of aBritish application for U.S. Pat. No. 44901/73, filed by the assignee ofthe instant invention on Sept. 25, 1973, and U.S. application Ser. No.348,853 filed Apr. 6, 1973. Reference is made to that application toshow that a central system is available to operate an armature windingmachine 4 at the entirely unprecedented speeds which, for the firsttime, can be achieved by the instant invention. Other types of drivesand indexing means for the armature core assembly can be used. Themachine sequence can be relay logic controlled. Mechanical devices, asclutches and stops, can be used to index the armature core assembly.Fluid motors, as hydraulic motors, can be used to drive and index theannular members during the winding operation.

To gain that high operating speed, the present invention utilizes anentirely new way of winding the wire onto the armature core 6. Thus, asshown particularly in FIGS. 4-6, wire drawn from a pair of spools 20passes through holes 21 in annular members having sleeves or rims 22 anda pair of bevel ring gears 23, to the core slots 9 in position to havewire wound therein. Since, as is customary, two coils are simultaneouslywound, the winding mechanism is duplicated at opposite sides of thelocation which the armature core assembly 5 occupies during the windingoperation. The two bevel gears 23 are driven (in opposite directions) bya bevel drive pinion 24 which meshes therewith and is driven by anelectric motor 25.

The bevel gears 23 are journalled in large ball bearings 26 mounted in acylindrical housing 27. The outer race of each of these bearings isconfined between a fixed shoulder 28 and a retaining ring 29 threadedinto the housing 27. The inner race of each bearing 26 encircles the rim22 of its associated bevel gear, where it is confined between a shoulder30 and a spring retaining ring 31.

A second smaller ball bearing 32 seated in the bore of each bevel gear23 mounts a shroud 33 that has a smooth generally conical wire guidingsurface 34 and a concavely curved core receiving recess 35 in its apexto embrace one side of the core 6 of an armature core assembly 5 inposition to be wound. As in prior armature winding machines, the twoshrouds or chucks 33 coact to grip the armature core 6 therebetween withtheir smooth wire guiding surfaces 34 positioned to guide the stretchesof wire leading from the mouths of the holes 21 in the rims of the bevelgears 23 into the core slots 9 in position to have wire coils woundtherein, by rotation of the bevel gears 23.

Obviously, neither shroud 33 rotates and hence its cylindrical wall 36that gives the shroud 33 its cup-shaped formation can have a snug fit inthe inner race of its associated ball bearing 32. But the cylindricalwall 36 is axially slidable in the inner race of the ball bearing 32.The outer race of the ball bearing 32 has a reasonably tight fit in thebore of the bevel gear 23 and is held against axial displacement withrespect to the bevel gear 23 by being confined between a shoulder 37 inthe bore of the gear 23 and a retaining ring 38 seated in a groove inthe bore of the gear 23.

The ball bearing 32 are thus held against axial displacement withrespect to their respective gears 23, but the shrouds 33 have a degreeof axial motion sufficient to enable the shrouds 33 to move into and outof engagement with an armature core 6 therebetween. Springs 39 confinedbetween the inner races of the bearings 32 and opposing shoulders on theshrouds yieldingly press the shrouds against the core, and retainingrings 40 fitted in annular grooves in the exterior of the cylindricalwalls 36 limit the spring produced axial motion of the shrouds when noarmature core is present.

To spread the shrouds 33 apart for the admission of an armature coreassembly 5 therebetween, and also allow removal of the wound armature ofthe shrouds 33 as well as to release the assembly for indexing rotationthereof, a spreading device, here shown for purposes of illustration asa pair of pivotally connected fingers 41 is provided. By automaticallyoperated means (not shown) an actuator 42 is rotated to spread thefingers 41 into engagement with the adjacent surfaces of the shrouds 33and upon further rotation of the actuator 42 to spread the shrouds 33farther apart.

When an armature core 6 is gripped between the shrouds 33, thatengagement holds the shrouds 33 against rotation about the axis of thering gears, but the shrouds 33 must also be held against rotation whenno armature core is present. This can be done by having the fingers 41ride in grooves 43 in the surface 34 of the shrouds 33, since at timeswhen the shrouds 33 are being spread apart, there is no rotation of thegears 23 and hence no possibility of the stretches of wire that lead tothe core slots 9 coming into contact with the shroud-spreading fingers41.

The manner in which the wire is guided in its movement from the spools20 to the holes 21 in the rims of the gears 23, obviously is a matter ofchoice. One of the ways of doing this is to thread the wire tubes 44mounted by supporting structure 45 in fixed relation coaxially with thegears 23 and between them and the spools 20. The supporting structure 45can also support the spools 20.

An especially advantageous feature of this invention is the fact thatthe cup-shaped hub portion 33A of the shrouds 33 provides space close tothe zone of action, in which to locate wire directing and manipulatingtooling by which any of a number of operations can be performed whilethe winding operation is in progress. Thus, as an illustration of whatthe availability of this space can mean, note in FIG. 5 the diagrammaticillustration of wire holding and stuffing instrumentalities 46 by whichthe looped leads from and to successive coils wound onto the core can bemechanically and electrically connected to commutator segments. Theinstrumentalities 46 would of course be mounted in the cup-shaped hubportions 33A of the shrouds 33 along with their actuators.

The concept underlying this invention might be expressed as an islandsurrounded by a sea of rotary motion, wherein the cup-shaped shroud 33and the wire manipulating instrumentalities housed therein constitutethe island and the rotating gear 23 and the wire issuing from the mouthof the hole 21 through its rim 22 and sliding smoothly over the surface34 of the shroud 23 form the rotating sea of motion. This conceptobviously can be implemented in structural embodiments different fromthat shown in FIGS. 4-6.

Referring to FIGS. 7, 8 and 9, there is shown a second modification ofthe wire winding machine of the invention indicated generally at 100 forwinding coils of wire on a core of an armature. Machine 100 is operativeto wind coils of wire on an armature core assembly 101 having an uprightshaft 102. A core 103 is mounted on the midportion of shaft 102. Core103 has a plurality of outwardly open longitudinal slots 104 spacedaround the outer portions of the core. The slot arrangement of the core103 is particularly shown in FIG. 11. A commutator 106 is mounted on thelower end of shaft 102. The armature core assembly 101 has the sameconstruction as armature core assembly 5 shown in FIG. 1.

The wire winding machine or apparatus 100 has a stationary frame orsupport structure indicated generally at 107. Frame 107 can be enclosedin a cabinet-like structure, as shown in FIG. 3. The frame 107 includesa generally horizontal table 108. A first upright support or housing 109is secured to the table 108 on one side of the armature core assembly101. A second upright support or housing 111 is located on the oppositeside of armature core assembly 101. Frames 109 and 111 are flatplate-like stationary members located in spaced side-by-side sideparallel relation to each other. The lateral space between the frames109 and 111 is sufficient to permit the armature core assembly 101 to bepositioned between the frames 109 and 111. Housing 109 has a sideopening 112 to expose the core 103. Housing 111 has a similar opening113.

A first annular member or ring indicated generally at 114 is located inopening 112. A second annular member or ring 116 is located in opening113. Annular members 114 and 116 each have a diameter larger than thelength of core 103 so that the wires are located adjacent the ends ofthe core. A pair of ball bearings 117 rotatably mount the member 114 onthe housing 109. A retainer plate 118 is secured to housing 109 withbolts 119 to hold bearings 117 and member 114 in operative relation withhousing 109. The member 114 is free to rotate on bearing 117 about ahorizontal axis generally perpendicular or normal to the upright axis ofshaft 102.

The second annular member 116 is rotatably mounted on a pair of bearings121. Bearing 121 are held on housing 111 with a retainer plate 122.Bearings 117 and 121 can be single bearing structures or air bearings. Aplurality of bolts 123 secure retainer plate 122 to the housing 111. Theannular member 116 is free to rotate about a horizontal axis thatcoincides with the axis of rotation of the annular member 114. This axisis a horizontal axis, as shown in FIG. 10, and is generallyperpendicular or normal to the upright axis of the shaft 102.

The annular member 114 has a cylindrical shape and comprises a sleeve orrim 124 mounted on bearings 117. The sleeve 124 surrounds an opening126. The outer end of sleeve 124 has a driven or annular pulley portion127. A plurality of outwardly directed teeth 128 surround the pulleyportion 127. Teeth 128 cooperate with teeth on an endless drive belt 129to rotate the annular member 114. A flat retainer ring 131 is secured tothe inside of sleeve 124 with a plurality of bolts 132 to hold thesleeve in operative relation with the bearings 117.

As shown in FIG. 12, sleeve 124 has a longitudinal passage or hole 133.A cylindrical tubular needle 134 is located in the inner portion of thepassage 133 and fixed to the sleeve 124. Wire 136 is threaded throughneedle 134 and extends through a hole 137 to a tubular guide 138.Tubular guide 138 is mounted on support structure 139 and is locatedalong the axis of rotation of the annular member 114. The wire 136 movesfrom a storage supply, such as a reel, through tubular guide 138 andneedle 134 as it is wound on core 103.

The second annular member 116 is identical in construction with thefirst annular member 114. Member 116 is of a cylindrical shape having asleeve or rim 141. Sleeve 141 surrounds an opening providing access tothe armature core 103. The outer part of sleeve 141 includes a drive orpulley portion 143 having a plurality of external teeth 144. The belt129 is trained about pulley portion 143 and an operation of the machinewill rotate the annular member 116. A flat retainer ring 146 is attachedto the inner end of sleeve 141 with a plurality of bolts 147. Plate 146cooperates with bearings 121 to hold the sleeve 141 in rotatingrelationship with the housing 111. As shown in FIG. 11, sleeve 141 has alongitudinal hole 148 located approximately 180° from hole 133 in sleeve124. A cylindrical needle 149 is disposed in the inner end of hole 148and accommodates a wire 151. The wire 151 extends from the core 103through cylindrical needle 149 and a hole 152 into the opening 142. Atubular guide 153 is mounted on a support 154 and accommodates the wire151 as it moves from the wire supply, as spool 20 in FIG. 5. Tubularguide 153 is located in axial alignment with the rotating axis of sleeve141 which is also aligned with the axis of rotation of sleeve 124.

Returning to FIGS. 7 and 8, the annular members 114 and 116 are rotatedin opposite directions about a common transverse generally horizontalaxis. The axis of rotation is normal, or 90°, relative to the axis ofshaft 102 of the armature core assembly 101. The drive means for annularmembers 114 and 116 includes an idler pulley 156 rotatably mounted on anupright axle 157. A support 158 holds the axle 157 in an uprightposition. A plurality of nut and bolt assemblies 159 attach the supportto housing 109. Located below idler pulley 156 is a drive pulley 161.Drive pulley 161 is secured to an upright drive shaft 162. Drive shaft162 is connected to an electric motor 163. An encoder 164 is connectedto motor 163. Encoder 164 is electrically coupled to a controlmechanism, such as a computer with its associated memory. Supportstructure 166 mounts encoder 164 to the motor 163.

Belt 129 is trained about the drive pulley 161, about pulley portions127 and 143 of the annular members 114 and 116, respectively, and aroundidler pulley 156. On operation of motor 163, the annular members 114 and116 will be driven in opposite rotational directions through the meansof common belt 129 trained about the respective pulleys. Each pulley127, 143, 156 and 161 is provided with teeth which cooperate with teethon belt 129. This belt 129 and pulleys 127, 143, 156, and 161 insurethat the timing of the rotation of the annular members 114 and 116 doesnot change.

Referring to FIG. 9, the armature core assembly 101 is located in anupright position between the annular members 114 and 116. The lower endof shaft 102 is located within a releasable higher indicated generallyat 167. Holder 167 includes a releasable collet or check, as shown inFIG. 5. Holder 167 includes a cup member 169 having a pair of upwardlydirected cutters or fingers 171. Cup member 169 is part of a commutatorshielding and lead moving and guiding unit which is operative to moveand guide each ending wire lead which extends from the coil just woundabout the shaft 102 and around a selected commutator hook. The entirecommutator, except a selected hook, is shielded to prevent other orpreviously attached leads from leaving their hooks. An example of thisstructure is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,636,621. The coil leads can beattached to the commutator with the apparatus and method disclosed inU.S. Pat. No. 3,911,563.

A motor 172 is drivably connected to shaft 102 through drive structure(not shown) located within tube 168 operable to impart minute incrementsof rotation and thereby index core 103 during the winding procedure. Thedrive shaft of the motor has a shaft encoder coupled to it. The shaftencoder (not shown) is an electrochemical device that is used to providean electronic output in the form of a series of identical electricalpulses identifying minute increments of rotation of the shaft to whichthe encoder is coupled. The output of the encoder is fed into the memorybank of a computer that forms part of the control system of the windingmachine.

Referring to FIGS. 10 and 11, a first wire guiding means, chuck orshroud, indicated generally at 173, is located adjacent one side of thecore 103 and mounted on the first annular member 114. A second wireguiding means, chuck or shroud, indicated generally at 174, is locatedadjacent the opposite side of core 103 and is mounted on the secondannular member 116. The first shroud 173 functions to guide the wire 136into opposing pairs of slots during the winding procedure. The secondshroud 174 functions to guide wire 151 into a second pair of slotsduring the winding procedure.

The shrouds 173 and 174 are identical in construction and are located inface-to-face position, as shown in FIGS. 10 and 12, adjacent oppositesides of core 103. The following description is limited to shroud 173.The identical parts of shroud 174 have the same reference numerals withthe suffix A.

Referring to FIGS. 12-14, shroud 173 has a cup-shaped body 176 includingan annular flange 177. The front face of body 176 has an outwardlyshaped cone surface 178 which functions as a guiding surface for thewire during the winding procedure. A first upright semi-circular recessor pocket 179 is located in the midportion of body 176 to accommodate anarcuate segment of the core 103. Pocket 179 has a circumferentialcurvature that conforms to the outside diameter of core 103 so that core103 has a loos contact fit with the shroud. Shrouds 173 and 174 do notspread or open during loading and unloading of the machine. This permitsa faster winding cycle as shroud movements have been eliminated. Pocket179 is bisected with a horizontal slot 181 which extends through body176. A second recess or pocket 182 is located below pocket 179. Pocket182 has a semi-circular shape and is smaller in size than pocket 179. Ahole 183 is open to pocket 182 to provide access to the commutatorregion of the armature core assembly.

Referring to FIGS. 9, 10 and 11, the flange 177 is mounted on an annularball bearing 184. Bearing 184 is mounted on the inside of the sleeve 124and retained thereon with a ring 188 and a snap member 189. A circularplate 186 is secured to the inside of the body 176 with a plurality ofbolts 187. As shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, the core 103 fits into pockets179 and 179A and prevents shrouds 173 and 174 from rotating with thefirst annular member 114 and the second annular member 116. The wire isguided past the end of core 103 and into the slots 104 with a pair ofpivotally mounted tabs 191 and 192. Tabs 191 and 192 are movably locatedin slots 181 and are pivotally mounted on member 186 with a pair of pins193 and 194, respectively. A first spring 196 is engageable with plate186 and tab 191 to bias tab 191 toward shaft 102. A second spring 197engages plate 186 and tab 192 to bias tab 192 toward the shaft 102. Thetabs 191 and 192 are biased toward one another by the springs 196 and197, respectively. The center of plate 186 has a hole 198 in alignmentwith lobe or end portions 199 and 201 of the tabs 191 and 192,respectively. The tabs 191 and 192 are moved to their release positionswith an actuator indicated generally at 202. Actuator 202 has a plunger203 in axial alignment with hole 198. The plunger 203 is movably mountedon a motor 204, such as fluid motor or electric solenoid. As shown inFIG. 9, actuator 202 is mounted on a stand or support 206. A pluralityof bolts 207 secure the support to the table 108.

The shroud 174 has a pair of movable tabs 191A and 192A. The tabmounting and actuator structure is the same as the tab mounting andactuating structure hereinbefore described. The identical parts have thesame reference numerals with the suffix A.

On operation of the actuators 202 and 202A, the plungers 203 and 203Amove through holes 198 and 198A and engage tab portions 198, 199 and198A, 199A to move tabs 191, 192, 191A and 192A to the open positionswhereby the core 103 can be removed from between the shrouds 173 and 174after the winding procecure is completed. A new unwound armature coreassembly can then be placed between the shrouds 173 and 174 and held bythe releasable holder 167.

In use, an armature core assembly 101 is initially placed between theshrouds 173 and 174 with the core 103 in the first pockets 179 and 179A.The tabs 191, 192 and 191A, 192A are held in their open position onactuation of the actuators 202 and 202A. The plungers 203 and 203A ofthe actuators move through holes 198 and 198A and move and hold tabs191, 192, 191A and 192A in their open positions, thereby permitting core103 to be placed in the bottom of the first pockets 179 and 179A. Thecommutator 106 is enclosed by cup member 169. The lower end of thecommutator shaft 102 is held in the collet or chuck that is drivablyconnected to motor 172.

The actuators 202 and 202A are then released by moving the plungers 203and 203A out of the holes 198 and 198A. The springs 196, 197, 196A and197A bias their respective jaws 191, 192, 191A and 192A to their forwardpositions, as shown in full lines in FIG. 11.

Initially, the wires 136 and 151 are attached to separate commutatorsegments and extend through opposite slots 104 in the core 103. Wire 136is threaded through the cylindrical needle 134 and tubular guide 138.The wire 151 is threaded through tubular needle 149 and tubular guide153, as shown in FIG. 12. The wires 136 and 151 lead to separate wiresupplies, such as wire storing spools. Suitable wire tensioningstructures (not shown) can be associated with the wires 136 and 151 tokeep the proper tension on the wires during the winding procedure.

The wires 136 and 151 are wound in separate pairs of slots 104 duringthe winding procedure on energization of motor 163. The motor 163 drivesthe drive pulley 161 to move the belt 129. Belt 129 rotates the annularmembers 114 and 116 in opposite directions and carries wires 136 and 151around the core, thereby placing coils of wire in the two pairs of slots104. The wire 136 is guided by the cone surface 178 of the shroud 173into the first pair of slots. Tabs 191 and 192 direct the wire over theend of the core. In a similar manner, the cone surface 178A of shroud174 guides the wire 151 into a second pair of slots in the core 103.

During the winding procedure, holes 183 and 183A provide access to thecommutator 106. The holes provide access for wire holding and stuffinginstrumentalities (not shown), such as instrumentality 46, by which theloop leads of the wire from and to successive coils can be mechanicallyand electrically connected to the commutator segments. Theinstrumentalities can be mounted in plates 186 and 186A or directly onthe table 108 with suitable support structure. When a pair of coils havebeen wound, motor 163 is stopped. The indexing motor 172 is operated toindex core 103 to a second position, to thereby expose unwound pairs ofslots 106. The motor 163 is the energized to wind additional coils ofwire onto the core 103. This procedure is followed until all of thecoils have been wound on the core. The core is then removed from betweenshrouds 173 and 174 after tabs 191, 192 and 191A 192A have beenreleased. The collet or holding structure for the bottom of the shaft isalso released whereby the wound armature core assembly is removedthrough the top opening of the machine and an unwound core is placed inthe machine.

Referring to FIG. 15, there is shown a front elevational view of afourth embodiment of the wire winding machine of the invention,indicated generally at 210. Machine 210 is operable to hold an armaturecore assembly 211 in a vertical position during the winding operation.The armature core assembly 211 has an upright shaft 212 carrying aslotted core 213. A commutator is secured to the shaft below core 213.

Machine 210 has a releasable holder 216 containing a holding collet 217for holding the bottom of shaft 212 to thereby support the armature coreassembly 211 in an upright position. A first holding 218 is locatedadjacent one side of the core assembly 211 and a second housing 219 islocated adjacent the oposite side of the armature core assembly. Thehousings are upright members and are pivotally connected to a support ortable 221. Transverse pivot 222 connects the lower end of housing 218 totable 221. In a similar manner, a transverse horizontal pivot 223connects the lower end of housing 219 to the table 221. The housings 218and 219 can pivot toward and away from the armature core assembly 211. Afirst actuator indicated generally at 224 is connected to the housing218 to control the position of the housing. Actuator 224 has a cylinder226 carrying movable piston 227. Piston 227 is pivotally connected to alink 228. Link 228 is pivotally connected to a tab or bracket 229secured to the top portion of housing 218. Cylinder 216 is a doubleacting air cylinder which on actuation will pivot the housing inselected opposite directions, as indicated by arrow 231, about the pivotaxis of pivot 222.

A second actuator indicated generally at 232 is operable to control theposition of the housing 219. Actuator 232 has a cylinder 233 carrying amovable piston 234. The piston is pivotally connected to a link 236. Theopposite end of link 236 is connected to a tab or bracket 237 secured tothe upper part of housing 219. The cylinder 233 is a double acting aircylinder operable to selectively move the housing 219 in oppositedirections, as indicated by arrow 238.

A first annular rotatable member 239 is mounted on the housing 218. Theannular member 239 carries a chuck or shroud 241 operable to engage anarcuate segment of the core 213. The housing 219 has a second annularmember 242 having a chuck 243. Chuck 243 engages an opposite arcuatesegment of core 213. Chucks 241 and 243 have wire guiding surfaces thatfunction to guide the wires emanating from annular members 239 and 242into selected pairs of slots in the core 213. The annular members 239and 242 are identical to the annular members 114 and 116 shown in FIG.11. The chucks 241 and 243 are the same as chucks 173 and 174 shown inFIGS. 8-15. A common bolt 244 drivably connects a common motor to theannular members 239 and 242. The drive structure is the same as themotor and belt drive arrangements as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8.

In use, the actuators 224 and 232 operate to selectively move thehousing 218 and 219 toward and away from the armature core assembly 211.Actuators 224 and 232 are operable to provide a clamping action on thecore 213 to hold the core in an upright position. When large cores areto be wound, it may be advantageous to support the core with chucks 241and 243. The actuators 224 and 232 can be actuated to move the chucks241 and 243 away from the core so that the armature core assembly 211can be readily removed from the machine.

Referring to FIGS. 16-18, there is shown a fourth embodiment of the wirewinding apparatus of the invention indicated generally at 300. Machine300 is operable to wind a single coil of wire into pairs of slots in anarmature core 303 of an armature core assembly 301. The armature coreassembly 301 is identical in construction to the armature core assembly5 and has a shaft 302 carrying core 303. Core 303 has a plurality ofoutwardly open slots 304 to accommodate the wire. Commutator 306 issecured to the lower end of shaft 302. The machine 300 is identical toone-half of the machine shown in FIGS. 8-15. The following descriptionidentifies the parts of machine 300 that coincide with parts of machine100 with the same reference numerals having the prefix 3.

The machine 300 has a stationary frame or housing 307. Housing 307includes a horizontal table 308. An upright support or housing 311 issecured to the top of table 308. Housing 311 has an opening 313 foraccommodating a rotatable annular member or ring indicated generally at316. A pair of bearings 321 located between housing 311 and annularmember 316 rotatable mount the annular member 316 on the housing. Thebearings 321 can be single roller bearings or air bearings. A plate 322secured to housing 311 with a plurality of bolts 323 holds the bearingsin assembled relation with housing 311. The annular member has anannular drive or pulley portion 327 having a plurality of outwardlydirected teeth 328. A drive belt 329 is trained about the pulley portion327 and a drive motor (not shown) operable to rotate the annular member.The annular member 316 has a tubular sleeve or rim 341 surrounding anopening 342. The opening 342 is in alignment with or adjacent the core303 to provide access to the core and commutator during the windingoperation. An inside plate 346 secured to the sleeve 341 with bolts 347holds the sleeve in assembled relation with bearings 321.

Sleeve 341 and plate 346 having a longitudinal hole 348 accommodating acylindrical needle 349. The wire 351 is threaded through needle 349 andan inwardly directed hole 352 in sleeve 341. The wire extends through acentrally located tubular guide 352 and to a supply source such as areel of wire. Tubular guide 353 is carried on a support 354 secured totable 308.

Returning to FIG. 16, the commutator core assembly 301 is held in anupright position with a releasable holder indicated generally at 367.The holder is supported on top of an upright tube 368 and includes a cupmember 369 which surrounds the lower end of the shaft and commutator306. Cup member 369 is retracted so as to expose a tang on thecommutator 306 so that lead wires from between the coils may be hookedon the tang. A cutter 371 is used to cut the wire during the windingoperation. The shaft 302 is drivably connected to a motor 372. Motor 372is operable to selectively index the commutator during the windingoperation whereby coils of wire are wound in selected pairs of slots.Motor 372 is coupled to an encoder (not shown) and functions in a mannerdescribed relative to the motor 172.

A chuck or shroud indicated generally at 374 is mounted on the annularmember 316. Shroud 374 has a cone-shaped body 376 and an outwardlydirected annular flange 377. The body 376 has a outside cone surface 378which functions to guide the wire into selective pairs of slots 304 inthe core 303. As shown in FIG. 18, shroud 374 has an upright pocket 379for receiving an arcuate segment of the core 303. Pocket 379 has acircumferential curvature or radius of curvature that is substantiallythe same as the radius of curvature of the corre 303 and conforms to thearcuate configuration of the pocket 379.

Shroud 374 has slot 381 and a hole 383. The hole 383 provides an accesspassage to the commutator area of the armature core assembly 301. Wireworking tools or instrumentalities can be moved through hole 383 tomanipulate the wire durng the winding procedure and perform other wirehandling functions. An annular bearing 384 is located between the flange337 and the sleeve 341 whereby the annular member 316 rotates relativeto the shroud 374. The shroud 374, being in engagement with an arcuatesegment of the core 303, does not rotate with the annular member 316. Aplate 386 is attached to the inside of the shroud hole 376 with aplurality of bolts 378. An annular ring 388 bears against bearing 384and is retained on sleeve 341 with expanding ring 389.

A pair of arcuately movable tabs 391 and 392 are located in the slot381. A pivot pin 393 pivotally connects tab 391 to plate 386. In asimilar manner, pivot pin 394 connects tab 392 to plate 386. Tab 391 isbiased in an outward direction or toward the core 303 with a spring 396.Spring 396 is positioned between plate 386 and an outer portion of tab391. Tab 392 is biased toward the core 303 with a spring 397. Spring 397is located between an outer portion of tab 392 and plate 386. Adjacentinner portions of tabs 391 and 392 are located in alignment with acentral hole 398 in the plate 386. The center hole 398 is in axialalignment with an actuator indicated generally at 402. Actuator 402 hasa cylinder 403 carrying a movable plunger 404. Plunger 404 is inalignment with hole 398 and is movable into the hole to engage theadjacent portions of the tabs 391 and 392 to move the tabs to a releaseposition whereby the armature core assembly 301 can be removed from themachine. The cylinder can be a double acting air cylinder and identicalin construction and operation to the cylinder 204 shown in FIG. 9.

In use, the armature core assembly 301 is loaded into the machine in anupright position, as shown in FIG. 16. The actuator 402 is actuatedwhereby the plunger 404 moves the tab 391 and 392 to their releasepositions. The collet or chuck structure in the holder 367 holds thearmature assembly 301 in an upright position. A portion of the core 303is located in pocket 379, as shown in FIG. 19. The actuator 402 isreleased whereby the tabs 391 and 392 are biased to their operatingposition, as shown in FIG. 18. The tabs 391 and 392 function to guidethe wire over the end of the core so that the wire does not hook orcatch on the end of the core. The wire 351 is wound in a pair of slots304 by rotating the annular member 316. The belt 329 transmits the powerfrom the motor to the annular member. The belt 329 can be replaced withsuitable spur gear or bevel gear structure operable to transmit powerand rotate the annular member 316. During the winding procedure, themotor 372 is operable to selectively index the core so that wire iswound in all of the slots 304. During the winding procedure, wirehandling tools such as com-stuffing tools shown in FIG. 5 and other wirehandling tools can be used to handle the wire without removing thearmature core assembly from the machine. When the winding operation iscompleted, actuator 402 is operated to move tabs 391 and 392 to therelease position. The collet or chuck holding mechanism holding thebottom of the shaft 302 is released. The wound armature core assemblycan then be removed from the machine.

While there have been shown and described preferred embodiments andmethods of winding armature cores, it is understood that changes,alterations and modifications can be made by those skilled in the artwithout departing from the invention.

The embodiment of the invention in which an exclusive property orprivilege is claimed are defined as follows:
 1. A method of windingcoils of wire onto an armature from a compact winding array, said corehaving a plurality of slots for accommodating coils of wire, comprisingthe steps of:holding the armature in an upright position with thelongitudinal axis of the core in a generally vertical position,shielding opposite portions of the core and exposing at least two pairsof slots with first and second shield means disposed along an axisgenerally normal to the axis of the core, disposing first and secondring-like annular members having central bores about said normal axis inrespective circumambient and radially aligned relation to said shieldmeans and in axially proximate relation to said core, supporting theouter periphery of the annular members on surfaces in general radialalignment with said members for rotation about said normal axis,supporting the outer periphery of said shield means centrally of saidannular member for rotation and in general radial alignment with thesurface supporting said annular member whereby the first and secondannular members rotate relative to the first and second shield means,feeding a wire from a supply through each said annular member along apath radially outwardly of each said central bore and substantiallyparallel to said normal axis and thereafter feeding said wire generallyradially inwardly toward said core, winding a first coil of wire in afirst pair of slots by rotating said first ring-like annular member inone direction about said normal axis as said wire feeds therethrough,and winding a second coil of wire in a second pair of slots by rotatingsaid second ring-like annular member in an opposite direction about saidnormal axis as said wire feeds therethrough, locating said radialalignments to define axially limited radial zones proximate said core ofa length substantially less than the diametric extent thereof in whichsaid wire feeding, annular member supporting, and shield meanssupporting occurs.
 2. The method of claim 1 wherein: the first coil ofwire and the second coil of wire are simultaneously wound on the core.3. The method of claim 1 including: the step of guiding the wires intothe pairs of slots with shrouds which shield opposite portions of thecore, said shrouds comprising the first shield means and second shieldmeans.
 4. The method of claim 1 including: sequentially rotating thecore after the coils of wire have been wound onto the core to exposeadditional pairs of slots, and winding additional coils of wires in thepairs of exposed slots until all of the slots accommodate coils of wire.5. A method of winding coils of wire onto an armature from a compactwinding array, said core having a plurality of slots for accommodatingcoils of wire comprising the steps of:holding the armature in an uprightposition with the longitudinal axis of the core in a generally verticalposition, shielding a portion of the core with shield means disposedalong an axis generally normal to the core and exposing a pair of slotson generally opposing sides of the core, disposing a ring-like annularmember having a central bore about said normal axis in circumambient andradially aligned relation to said shield means and in axially proximaterelation to said core, supporting the outer periphery of the annularmember on a surface in radial alignment with said annular member forrotation about said axis, suporting the outer periphery of the shieldmeans centrally of said annular member for rotation and in generalradial alignment with the surface supporting said annular member wherebythe annular member may rotate relative to the shield means, feeding awire from a supply through said annular member along a path radiallyoutwardly of said central bore and substantially parallel to said axis,and thereafter feeding said wire generally radially inwardly toward saidcore, winding a coil of wire in said pair of slots by rotating saidring-like annular member in one direction about said axis as said wirefeeds therethrough, and, locating said radial alignments to define anaxially limited radial zone proximate said core of a lengthsubstantially less than the diametric extent thereof in which said wirefeeding, annular member supporting, and shield means supporting occurs.